BY YANNIC RACK | This Labor Day weekend, the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit will once again take over the sidewalks around University Place, from E. 13th St. south to W. Third St. Now in its 85th year, the twice-yearly street fair has been around slightly longer than this newspaper. It was originally put on read more here »

BY YANNIC RACK | Many a local pet has graced the pages of The Villager over the years — from Scoopy to crusty pit bulls. But an article that appeared in the newspaper 75 years ago this month is likely still unsurpassed when it comes to reporting on the neighborhood’s animal inhabitants. The lengthy read more here »

BY YANNIC RACK | The neighborhoods and block associations of New York City have a long and rich history of organizing in support of causes, whether it means keeping a community garden from being developed or saving the last cobblestoned street in the Village. On July 28, 1960, The Villager reported on a local effort read more here »

BY YANNIC RACK | There is no shortage of sightseeing buses or tourist groups patrolling the streets of New York, and they are rarely a popular sight among residents. Now a new type of walking tour is trying to attract a slightly different crowd, by opting for a unique look back at the colorful history read more here »

BY YANNIC RACK | Strolling through Jefferson Market Garden today, you would be forgiven to be oblivious to the history of this lush oasis in the heart of the Village — but the site once served a very different purpose. “The Women’s House of Detention […] is again the object of criticism and attack,” read more here »

FLASHBACK: In September 1959, when the top photo was taken, the Stetler Warehouse stood at the treeless intersection of Hudson, Bleecker and Bank Sts., and a comfort station sat on a traffic island in the street. Both structures were eventually demolished, paving the way for the creation of today’s leafy and heavily used Bleecker St. read more here »

Rebecca Lepkoff, the great photographer who died Aug. 17 at 98, famously captured the street life of her native Lower East Side in the 1940s and ’50s. At left, in a game of kick the can, “prisoners” who were tagged and in “jail” are liberated as a boy kicks the can. The wall is covered read more here »

BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | Eighty years ago, a bird’s eye view of Jackson Square Park from Eighth Ave. shows a very different scene than the leafy, well-appointed park of today. A photo from Sept. 13, 1934 shows trees that were only saplings and no grand fountain. It seems that children may still have used it read more here »

The top story in The Villager’s Jan. 7, 1988, issue, “Fear Demolition Will Ruin Neighbor,” detailed how Joe Roberto, longtime curator/director of the Old Merchant’s House, at 29 E. Fourth St., worried that an abutting building’s upcoming demolition and new parking lots could harm the then-155-year-old landmark. The other Page 1 story, “Effective Crack Busts read more here »